This is a discussion of the book, "The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything" by Ken Robinson (Penguin/Viking: 2009).
One of the things we love best at THNK is bringing together people with a variety of talents and abilities in order to tackle big problems. But before these individuals come together, what have they done within themselves so that they are able to be a meaningful part of such a team? What are the component parts of such a person?
Having a natural skill or talent is a great thing. Having a passion for something is quite another. But it is where talent and passion intersect that things really start to happen. That is the point Ken Robinson calls The Element, and it is the title of his book of the same name, subtitled ‘How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.’
The Element looks at a diverse range of people who have been able to bring talent and passion together, all of them to great success. The book demonstrates how important imagination and creativity are and how important it is to be committed to our own abilities, to be innovative, and to foster growth of our intellect and imagination.
There are things each of us can do, Robinson believes, that can help us to find the confluence of our talent and passion, and there are also things that we can do that will suppress the likelihood of that happening. He believes each of us can and should be on an ongoing path of development. What Robinson offers in The Element is a strategy for transforming ourselves and, thus, transforming the way we do business and live our lives. By looking at who and where we are in a different way, we can tackle today’s challenges creatively, with more enthusiasm and to a better result.